The Piper sniffed twice at the bottle.  His scent was as keen as a hunting dog’s.  Then he glanced quickly toward the house where Miss Evelina, unveiled, shrank back into the farthest corner of an upper room.

He walked to the gate, no longer whistling, and slowly, thoughtfully, buried it deep in the rubbish.  Could Miss Evelina have seen his face, she would have marvelled at the tenderness which transfigured it and wondered at the mist that veiled his eyes.

He stood at the gate for a long time, leaning on his scythe, his back to the house.  In sympathy with his master’s mood, the dog was quiet, and merely nosed about among the rubbish.  By a flash of intuition, Miss Evelina knew that the finding of the bottle had made clear to the Piper much that he had not known before.

She felt herself an open book before those kind, keen eyes, which neither sought nor avoided her veiled face.  All the sorrow and the secret suffering would be his, if he chose to read it.  Miss Evelina knew that she must keep away.

The sun set without splendour.  Still the Piper stood there, leaning on his scythe, thinking.  All the rubbish in the garden was old, except the empty laudanum bottle.  The label was still legible, and also the warning word, “Poison.”  She had put it there herself—­he had no doubt of that.

The dog whined and licked his master’s hand, as though to say it was time to go home.  At length the Piper roused himself and gathered up his tools.  He carried them to a shed at the back of the house, and Miss Evelina, watching, knew that he was coming back to finish his self-appointed task.

“Yes,” said the Piper, “we’ll be going.  ’T is not needful to bark.”

He went down-hill slowly, the little dog trotting beside him and occasionally licking his hand.  They went into the shop, the door of which was still propped open.  The Piper built a fire, removed his coat and hat, took off his leggings, cleaned his boots, and washed his hands.

Then, unmindful of the fact that it was supper-time, he sat down.  The dog sat down, too, pressing hard against him.  The Piper took the dog’s head between his hands and looked long into the loving, eager eyes.

“She will be very beautiful, Laddie,” he sighed, at length, “very beautiful and very brave.”

IX

Housecleaning

The brisk, steady tap sounded at Miss Evelina’s door.  It was a little after eight, and she opened it, expecting to find her breakfast, as usual.  Much to her surprise, Miss Mehitable stood there, armed with a pail, mop, and broom.  Behind her, shy and frightened, was Araminta, similarly equipped.

The Reverend Austin Thorpe, having carried a step-ladder to the back door, had then been abruptly dismissed.  Under the handle of her scrubbing pail, the ministering angel had slipped the tray containing Miss Evelina’s breakfast.